David S. Jackson

Nathan S. Simmonds

Robert P. Stewart

RoboCup - robotic soccer

David S. Jackson, Nathan S. Simmonds, Robert P. Stewart and Frank Wornle

This project is the second phase of the ongoing development of a fully autonomous robot for the RoboCup Middle-Size League (MSL). The currently available prototype now requires a brain which uses all available sensors to derive an optimal strategy to solve a given task. The on-board camera has to be developed into an omnidirectional vision system; task range from low-level image processing up to top-level object recognition and the building of a virtual world. This information thus acquired serves as inputs to a decision making system which then drives the omnidirectional drive system and the kicker mechanism of the robot. All hardware units will have to be integrated into a reliable software framework; a number of on-board microcontrollers may need to be combined using a CAN based communication system. Additional hardware units may be required. This includes the design and integration of a low-cost laser scanner to provide the necessary trigger/control input for the kicker mechanism.

The 2005 design team consists of the following three Mechatronics students: David S. Jackson, Nathan S. Simmonds and Robert P. Stewart. Further details about the current state of the project and a presentation of state-of-the-art technology can be found below.